Residents and members of the business community of Central and Upper Corentyne have complained that crime and piracy are among several issues that are affecting them.
They aired their concerns during a meeting with acting Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, B Division acting Commander Marlon Chapman and a team of high ranking Police officials.
The thrust of the meeting was to get to know the concerns affecting community members and how the Police and community can work hand-in-hand for a better society.
Residents felt that enough is not being done to curtail the increasing level of crime in the region; they are of the view that the criminals are always one step ahead of the Police in many cases.
In instances where those guilty are caught, the res-
idents felt that the Police are sloppy in their case presentation, allowing them to walk away scotch-free while the victims cope with their losses.
Some persons were very blunt in their comments, saying that the Police are taking bribes from the criminals and are deliberately messing up cases so that they (criminals) can get off.
Other residents called for a SWAT team in Berbice to help deal with crime as well as an increased presence of the Tactical Services Unit.
They are of the view that the presence of more patrols can help reduce crime, especially robberies.
The acting Commissioner responded by saying that they will have the Police Force’s full commitment to tackle crime. He noted that there are quite a few new patrol vehicles recently added to the division that are on patrol more often. He
need for greater coopera-
or stop criminals by themselves, which is why there has been an increased focus on the youths and community groups.
These groups help the public to interact and become more comfortable with members of the Force, allowing for greater information sharing, leading to more arrests.
The youth groups also keep youths meaningfully occupied in leisure and vocational activities and away from substance abuse and other social ills.
In relation to allegations of bribery, the Commissioner
One resident explained that millions of dollars are lost due to the high level of piracy on the Corentyne waters. Another explained that for many, that is their main source of livelihood and if nothing is done to curb this crime, a lot of people will be out of jobs and indebted to the banks, pointing out that a lot of fishermen take loans to help finance their trade.
To this, the acting Top Cop told them that they are working with their Surinamese counterparts to tackle piracy and noted the issue is currently engaging Government’s attention at the highest level.
One suggestion was made to establish a Joint Task Force, involving all the relevant divisions of the Force, including Surinamese law enforcement, so as to deal with the level of piracy.
Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce President Abrahim Subnauth speaking on behalf of the business community, enquired about the Force’s preparedness to deal with politically-based crime and possible riots in light of an impending General Election.
In response, the Top Cop assured him that the Force is capable of dealing with all those situations. He noted that the Police are currently engaged in public order training, manning of ballot boxes and all other activities as it relates to elections.
urged the residents to come forward and report the cases. He assured them that those found guilty will be dealt with accordingly.
At the Upper Corentyne meeting which was held at the City Inn Hotel, Springlands, the major concern highlighted was that of piracy on the high seas and the influx of contraband goods.
In addition, there will be increased capacity at each of the stations around election time to deal with any such situation.
The acting Top Cop also promised to look into the issue of firearm licences for persons who had applied sometime ago. He is also encouraging persons to continue to work with the Police Force for a crime-free society.
Weather: Light rain showers can be expected during the day and in the early afternoon with sunny weather prevailing in the late afternoon. Light rain showers can be expected in the evening over coastal regions and near inland locations. Temperatures are expected to range between 23 degrees and 30 degrees Celsius.
Winds: East North-easterly between 3.12 metres and 3.57 metres per second.
High Tide: 07:47h and 20:04h reaching a maximum height of 2.52 metres at each scheduled time.
Low Tide: 01:19h and 13:38h reaching minimum heights of 0.61 metre and 0.75 metre respectively.
BY TAJERAM MOHABIR
Given the series of protests of Essequibo rice farmers in the first crop, and with no indication that the prices for paddy will increase in the coming crop, farmers are left to explore their options to stay in business while remaining profitable.
The challenge of timely payments by millers, which activated the protests, has long been a sore issue, with numerous calls for the matter to be stridently addressed.
Encouragingly, Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Jagnarine Singh has promised to tighten the Rice Factories Act, giving some hope to farmers.
In light of the protests, one politician had also called for the establishment of a Revolving Fund, so that farmers will be paid on time
of the rice/fish culture (the rearing of fish in rice cultivation) was floated and implemented but soon after died an unannounced death.
Sources say that aside from some issues such as availability of fingerlings and farmers rearing on a large scale, which is not ideal, the farmers did not seem too inclined to diversify production.
According to Doodnauth Samaroo, Chairman of the National Aquaculture Association of Guyana (NAAG), which today is a mere paper organisation, the initiative fell through, as it was not practical.
Can work
However, a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study conducted here during 2004-2006 has proven otherwise.
In East Berbice, Corentyne, where the study was conducted, the aver-
by millers.
Government has also spent billions of dollars to cushion the impact of dipping prices for rice and rising prices for fertilisers to ensure farmers enjoy a comfortable livelihood.
But the assistance does not seem to alleviate the problems confronting the industry, in a manner that would put farmer on a sound financial footing while making maximum use of their fields.
Some time back, the idea
age rice yield of conventional rice farmers was about 24 bags per acre, but this increased to 28 bags.
“Farmers harvested an increased rice yield from the rice-fish plot. The average production of rice from seven rice-fish plots was 47 bags per acre….
“This significant increase can be attributed to the elevated attention that farmers provide to the crop in the generally smaller rice-fish plots, but also to the positive impact of the fish themselves as well as the fish
farming practices favouring better growth of the rice plants,” the report stated.
Another FAO report, this time in 2013, stated that China remains the world’s largest producer of tilapia and the largest supplier to the European market. Tilapia production continues to interest some countries in Africa, Asia and Latin American for supplying emerging domestic demand.
Demand European demand for freshwater fillets is currently stable but expected to increase over time. US imports of tilapia, especially frozen fillets, increased in 2012 after a low season in 2011, but dipped again slightly during the first quarter of 2013.
As the biggest market for Chinese tilapia, the US absorbed 60 per cent of Chinese exports in 2012.
Availability of certified tilapia is projected to stimulate demand for tilapia fillets in European and North American markets where consumer demand for private certification of seafood products is on the rise, the FOA said.
Sase Persaud, a rice farmer from Lima on the Essequibo Coast said, gener-
ally, it costs a farmer some $119,000 to produce one acre of rice, of which $79,000 accounts for expenditure and $40,000 in profit.
According to Samaroo, it takes about two pounds of feed, costing $170 to produce one pound of tilapia, which is sold at $400.
Mukesh Goberdhan, a farmer from Cullen, Essequibo Coast said he had tried rearing tilapia in his rice field but stoped because of lack of available markets.
However, Samaroo pointed out that there is a demand on the local market and local fish farmers can also, through the local trade agencies, tap into the multimillion dollar markets in the US and the Europe.
An Agriculture Ministry official told this publication that given that the rice/fish culture ideally should be on a small-scale, farmers will have to form themselves in groups to ensure sustainability if they secure an overseas market.
A number of farmers on the Essequibo Coast told this publication, that with help from Government, they are willing to engage in the rice/fish culture to supplement their income and ensure a more secured livelihood.
Editor: Tajeram Mohabir
Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134
Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown
Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com
In the last few years, the local Opposition and a section of the media have been mimicking a disturbing stereotyping of aid, grants and soft loans from China as “Rogue Aid”. Recently, the now departed US Ambassador D Brendt Hart echoed Hillary Clinton’s 2012 obvious reference to China: “be wary of donors who are more interested in extracting your resources than in building your capacity”.
This view is premised on the notion that the Chinese simply want the natural resources of Third World countries and their votes in international fora. They are willing to use their bulging coffers to offer “aid” to secure those resources as “bribes” even as they refuse to tie the aid to “the rule of law, transparency and democratic practices” as the West claims it is doing.
The Chinese approach has been dubbed the Beijing Consensus, in contra distinction to the “Washington Consensus” imposed by the West on those same countries since the 1980s via the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
But in a recent book, <How Rogue is China’s Aid?, this view has been critically interrogated by Cullen S Hendrix and Marcus Noland, University Professors and with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In the Washington Post, probably the most influential newspaper in the US, they explained their findings and conclusions: “These characterisations have not been subjected to rigorous empirical analysis.
“In our recent book, we show some resource-seeking bias in Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), development assistance, and arms transfers. But this link is not terribly strong or inconsistent with patterns of the US or other major powers.
“Some studies putting Chinese OFDI in extractive industries like metals, coal, oil and natural gas at 73.5 per cent of all flows at the regional level. Others show Chinese OFDI to be disproportionately targeted toward states with larger natural resource endowments and weaker rule of law. But these correlations do not imply nefarious intent or preference for corrupt environments.
“The Chinese are relative latecomers and many of the new discoveries that haven’t already been sewn up by Western producers are in states with weak rule of law. Western companies are discouraged from operating in these environments by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Dodd Frank’s Section 1502 rule on conflict minerals, so the upshot is that Chinese producers gravitate toward these relatively under-capitalised markets.
“China is hardly unique in shaping its foreign policy around natural resource needs, especially energy. After World War II, the US worried about the foreign policy implications of dependence on oil imports and has evolved policies to military aid and assistance – including troops – to protect Middle Eastern oil producers from Communist aggression or influence.”
The above view echoes that of two European economists Axel Dreher and Andreas Fuchs from 2012: “The fact that Chinese aid is driven by political and commercial motives is not outstanding in international development cooperation. Many studies have shown that Western donor countries provide aid based on strategic considerations.
“There is no evidence that China’s allocation of aid is inferior from a humanitarian point of view when compared to other donor countries. When it comes to democracy and indicators of governance, there is also little evidence that China’s allocation of aid is inferior.
“Although China does not take institutional quality into account when deciding on its allocation of aid, the same holds for most other donors in our sample. In particular, we did not find that China’s aid is biased towards autocratic or corrupt regimes as claimed by its critics.
“Based on our analysis of China’s aid allocation decisions, it seems that fears that Chinese aid undermines the efforts of other donors to promote democracy and good governance are exaggerated. The same holds for commercial motives. While commercial interests matter, our empirical evidence does not support the idea that China puts greater weight on giving aid to either countries with strong commercial ties, or to countries that are more abundant in natural resources, in comparison to other donors.”
Dear Editor,
Listening to the sweet melodies of the kiskadee, the crashing sound of the waves as they furiously beat upon the seawall, roaming in the newly burnt fields for the sweetest sugar canes, ‘skulking’ from school, (I just hated school with all my heart and soul) to hunt for that ripe monkey apple, delighting in the singing and dancing of my kite mounting ever so high (with sharp razor blades at the tail), feeling in the stagnant muddy drains for that cricket ball – these are some of the most vivid and happy memories of my boyhood days.
The childlike delight, spontaneity, and exuberance may no longer be there, but one of my abiding joys in life is still my passion and love for the beauty and magic in nature.
It is indeed a sad commentary on our times that many people, particularly in the metropolitan cities of the world, have but little time or they scarcely bother to admire and reflect on the exuberant splendor and beauty in nature. The hurried pace and stress of modern living has stifled our natural curiosity and sense of wonder.
Many people are just too busy and occupied to stop and smell the roses. So on
a daily basis, great beauty passes unnoticed with no space in their schedule for any pause or break. Einstein was hinting at exactly this when he wrote: “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”
Despite our best efforts at encroaching upon nature, causing species to vanish, polluting the environment, and upsetting the earth’s complex and intricate ecological balance, the world is still a place of immense beauty and sheer delight.
This was eloquently expressed by Thomas Carlyle, who wrote: “This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle, won-
derful, inscrutable, magical and more, to those who think of it.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Philosopher, Poet, and Transcendentalist, thought deeply on nature and life and he gave a glimpse of the spiritual dimension to the magic of nature when he wrote:
“I feel that nothing can befall me in life – no disgrace, no calamity, which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, my head bathe in blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, –all mean egotism vanishes, I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the current of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part and parcel of
God.”
Not to marvel at nature is a reflection of our spiritual decline. The sacred texts of all the great religious traditions of the world are adorned with passages where the infinite majesty and glory of God are described with references to the marvelous works in nature and creation.
They remind us to step back a little, to rise above mere rituals and ceremonies, and to behold God in the fragrant perfume of the flowers, in the ebb and flow of the tides, the enchanting music of the nightingale, the sweet smile of a child, and in all the magnificent works in nature.
God then can no longer be confined to the temple, synagogue, mandir, mosque, or gurudwara. To see Him in a rainbow or in the setting sun is in itself meditation and prayer as good as when we sing His praises in the houses of worship. Thus Shri Krishna, Universal Teacher, sang to Arjuna, His disciple in Bhagavad Gita: “For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.”
Sincerely, Cecil Ramkirath
After being reportedly threatened Friday night by Glenn Lall, Owner and Publisher of Kaieteur News, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner General Khurshid Sattaur said he is engaging Attorney General Anil Nandlall on what legal options could be pursued.
Sattaur told Guyana Times that he is awaiting the advice of the Attorney General, with whom he spoke on Saturday, as well as his private lawyers, before deciding what next steps to take against Lall.
Nandlall confirmed the conversation with Sattaur and explained that he will be examining the report in the coming days.
Lall and a GRA employee are currently implicated in a scam, allegedly robbing Government of millions of dollars in import duty on two 2013 Lexus Suburban L57 SUVs brought into the country by remigrants. Lall is listed as the closest relative of the remigrant on documents submitted.
in import duty for vehicles that were being driven by Lall and his wife, Bhena, the owner of Bhena’s Footwear.
The alleged scandal involving Lall came to the fore after extensive investigation was done by another media house. It appears that Lall was at the centre of the remigrant scam involving a Guyanese couple who returned home, importing vehicles under the guise of ownership.
Former President of Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Clinton Urling said that while he is not aware of the specifics of this case, the GRA is empowered under the law to probe any alleged wrongdoing for the evasion of taxes.
He explained that once the GRA conducts a full probe and there are actions to be taken within the confines of the law, then there must be full cooperation by the defaulter, regardless if it is Lall or anyone else.
home with a number of benefits. These include an import duty-free waiver for vehicles, and tax exemptions for household items, once these are owned for six months or more.
As husband and wife, Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan were entitled to concessions as two separate individuals, although a joint application was submitted.
The Brijnanans, on their application form, indicated that besides household items, they were returning with two Lexus SUVs, the chassis numbers of which were listed along with other required information. One chassis number, however, did not match what was in the original application.
Lall allegedly threatened Sattaur on Friday to use his newspaper to destroy the character of the GRA Head. “Lall called me from an overseas number and threatened to expose me, as if I’m a thief, and it is because I am using my office to deal with the matters I normally deal with.
Urling strongly warned against attempts by media operatives, their publishers, or owners to intimidate public officials while they are executing their lawful duties.
Efforts by a team of GRA officers to seize the two Lexus L57 SUVs in question on Friday evening proved futile after the implicated employee, a close aquaintance of Lall, refused to allow them entry to the property to uplift the vehicles.
The employee refused to allow them entry and this continued until Saturday
der view of the home, and also to block anyone from attempting to remove the two Lexus SUVs parked in the yard.
After spending some time on the bridge, the canter truck was moved. Subsequently, the two vehicles were driven out of the compound to the GRA storage facility at Eccles.
Guyana Times subsequently spoke to Sattaur who explained that the employee decided that he would hand over the vehicles to the GRA. Sattaur
said the vehicles will be examined as part of the investigation.
This issue started with husband and wife Narootandeo and Gharbassi Brijnanan, who were on July 3, 2013 granted permission by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to return to Guyana as “remigrants”, along with the concomitant incentives of the Remigrant Scheme.
Under the programme, Guyanese who would have resided overseas for more than five years may return
Lall was listed as the closest relative of Narootandeo Brijnanan on the application form. The Brijnanans gave as their address in Guyana 221 Number 61 Village, Corentyne, Berbice.
The Brijnanans obtained a duty-free concession for each vehicle, totalling in excess of $40 million.
The GRA Licence Revenue Processing System (GRA -LRPS) form indicates that the licence plate numbers for the two vehicles are PRR 8398 and PRR 8399, which up to recently were being driven by Lall and his wife, Bhena.
“I don’t know what wrong I am doing if I am trying to do the Government’s work. I don’t know why people should be upset, if they are doing wrong things,” explained Sattaur.
The GRA Head further charged that it would seem as though Lall considers himself above the law. “It seems like Lall is not subject to the laws of this country like anyone else,” he said.
Sattaur said Lall apparently contacted him in an effort to intimidate him to not pursue the investigation. But the GRA Head said all the threat did was to strengthen his resolve to get to the bottom of the issue.
The GRA is currently in the middle of an investigation in which Government is believed to have been cheated out of $40 million
“I condemn this in the strongest possible forms. No media house must be used as a weapon against any businessman or public official,” he said, when asked about his position on the statement made by the GRA Head that he was threatened by Lall.
Several other businessmen and public officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed their satisfaction with the manner in which the GRA has conducted this investigation, while also condemning attempts by Lall to silence Sattaur.
“I think Lall and those close to him, if they are involved in fraudulent activity directly or indirectly, are getting what they deserve. If they can preach transparency and wage war against corruption from one side of their mouth, while enjoying the spoils of backdoor activities through the other side, then it is time for someone to expose him,” Urling said strongly.
afternoon when he was forced to relinquish the vehicles, supposedly in light of the consequences of his actions.
It was not until then that the employee and another individual drove the vehicles in close tow by law enforcement officials to a GRA storage faclility in Eccles Industrial Site, East Bank Demerara.
Earlier on Saturday, when Guyana Times arrived at Lot 8 Continental Park, East Bank Demerara – the address on the registration forms for the vehicles – the GRA employee ventured outside to engage some of the media houses present. While there, the media observed the coming and going of several vehicles.
At one stage, a canter truck bearing a Kaieteur News identification tag drove up to the home and proceeded to park across the bridge, blocking the gate. This was done in an apparent attempt to hin-
This holiday, my parents took my brother and me to see “The Lion King” on Broadway. We’d seen the movies so many times growing up, we could (and did!) recite the dialogue for complete scenes.
I was completely overwhelmed; it was quite possibly the best experience of my entire life. Possibly. The play opened with “The Circle of Life” and it was like my entire childhood was just wrapped up in that one song.
There’s something about Disney movies that just makes me really, really happy, especially the older ones. I loved the newer movies like “Tangled” and “Frozen” but something about “Mulan”, “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King” just makes me ridiculously happy. My parents had bought all the VHS tapes (where did those go??!!!) and believe me, my brother and I made those tapes stretch! I think it’s because Disney movies are all doused in a heavy coat of nostalgia. Those were the days!!
“It means no worries for the rest of our days; it’s our problem-free philosophy, Hakuna Matata” – Hakuna Matata, The Lion King
I’ve always really loved Disney movies, but for some reason in Sixth Form I decided to really get back into Disney movies. I think the movies were like a comfort blanket of familiarity that I needed because there were just so many changes going on at the time –Sixth Form was a whole new ballgame and it felt like we all had to act much more grownup and of course, college was right around the corner. And I found out that those simple movies were also special because they dealt with universal themes that confront all of us who have to pass from childhood into adulthood. And it has to do
with the choices we will make.
In retrospect, I’ve realised that the nice thing about Sixth Form was that if you make the right choices, it can prepare you so much for college. Of course it prepares you academically – the volume of work is just over a billion times harder than CSEC but it can also so prepare you to be a more responsible adult. Simba had to accept the responsibilities of leading his pride of lions, didn’t he?
By joining lots of clubs, taking part in extra-curricular activities and accepting leadership roles, you can learn to balance school-work with other responsibilities,
learn to manage tasks and people and learn to make decisions.
And because there are usually so many new faces and many of your old friends have gone off to other schools, university or work, you really have to break out of the comfortable cocoon that you settled into for the past five years. And for some people, it’s the best thing to ever happen to them – they can start over with a fresh slate, especially if they’re moving to a new school.
But the worst possible thing to do would be to just laze around during Sixth Form. The first few weeks (months) of Sixth Form there’s this feeling that pervades the entire level, it’s this feeling of “we have arrived”. We felt like we’ve just done really, really well at CSEC and we deserved to just rest on our laurels indefinitely. Don’t do that. People who’ve never failed before fail at CAPE. So get into the habit of managing your time and staying focused and disciplined and you’ll be set by time you get to college. Because “Hakuna Matata” was nice while it lasted, but Simba had to face his responsibilities head on and take back his kingdom.
As quick as you blink your eyes, it feels like it’s time for school to start all over again. The summer is usually filled with exciting adventures and plenty of memories for children to deposit into their memory bank, but school officially started this week. Hopefully, the young ones will be super excited about meeting their new teachers and seeing old friends as they kick start the new school year. As much as most children and to a greater degree, some parents, have a hard time saying goodbye to the August holidays, many parents are more ready than their children for them to get back to school.
With many crazy mornings in sight, and hectic routines, packing up the children and getting them out the door each morning with their lunches, backpacks, and positive attitudes can take planning and preparation. Here are a few handy tricks moms the world over have used to help make the morning rush much easier, less time consuming and tedious. After all, anything that makes the lives of parents easier, why not give them a try, right?
* Set your alarm a few minutes before your children wake. This enables you a few extra minutes to yourself, in what can otherwise be a busy morning. Even if it’s just 15 minutes! That is enough time for most busy parents to wash up, get dressed, and even start a cup of tea or coffee. Now, some parents are even more awesome and can squeeze in a quick workout.
* Pick outfits out the night before. This is also a great way to encourage some independence and self-esteem by giving children the responsibility of getting their uniform prepped and ready for school.
* Have a backpack command centre. Pick a spot near your front door or entryway where you can leave shoes and backpacks. This way when it’s time to get out the door in the morning there’s no searching for those last-minute items.
* Place completed homework or school paperwork into backpacks the night before. Again, you don’t want to be searching for a field trip form the morning of, so make it easy on yourself and have it packed the night before.
* Make lunches the night before and store in fridge until morning. Maybe the children are old enough to pitch in, that’s even better! If not, then pack your snacks or lunch the night before, again to save time in the morning. If you can’t find time the night before, another option is make lunch during breakfast time. Some parents would make the lunch snacks as the children eat their breakfast. This is also a great way to spend a few extra minutes chatting in the morning about the school day. It’s a nice kick-start to the day.
* Set your coffee pot for auto-brew so when you wake up, your coffee is already brewed, all it needs is a cup and a happy parent to enjoy the first sip. This is probably the favourite part of the school routine for some parents; getting to enjoy the first cup of coffee before the children wake up.
* Stay calm, enjoy your mornings, and allow time for an extra hug before the bell rings. Who doesn’t love an extra hug from their favourite munchkins, right?!!! Before we know it the children grow, so why not embrace these moments now, while you can.
(www.kraftsandkiddos.com)
Princess Fun City Entertainment Centre on Thursday gave away some 250 school bags and other items to students from low-wealth regions when it hosted it “Back to School Outreach Programme”.
The centre in a release said, “We are pleased to be working along with the Ministry of Education as we continue to invest in our community, showing gratitude for the support
given to our business. We have a responsibility to help those that are less fortunate and contribute to the common good.”
Princess Fun City Family Centre, the first of its kind in Guyana, offers family fun and entertainment for everyone.
“Our gaming arcade has state-of-the-art games with two 3D theatres providing the latest releases in Bollywood, children’s and Hollywood movies,” the release said.
delegates of
The 11 contestants vying for the Mr Guyana International title were officially unveiled to the public on Friday evening at the Pegasus Hotel.
The contenders who were present at the launch were Stowell Betham, Paul Charles, Kurt Walcott, Kevin Bhagrat, Colwyn Abrams, Trevon Frenty, Christon Pollard, Kevin Smith, Raphael October and Ryan Washington. Alexander Fiedtkou, the other contestant was absent due to unforeseen circumstances.
Decked in purple shirts and back tailored pants, the contestants showed off their masculinity as they presented themselves to the media and special invites.
Also present at the launch of the Mr Guyana International Pageant were some of the sponsors and well wishers.
The concept of the pageant came about after it was realised over the years that there has been a decline in
the morale of men in society due to their involvement in sexual assaults, armed robberies and domestic violence, among other social ills.
It was also noticeable that many of the social responsibilities expected to be portrayed and acted out by men have been significantly reduced and somewhat replaced by education through a new trend of music, movies and fashion.
Many of the young men in society do not have someone to call their mentor, role model or even trend setters; hence, the idea to host the first ever Mr Guyana International competition.
In addressing the gathering, Coordinator Paul Burnett recalled growing up in a single parent home, a family structure that led to many disadvantages. He recalled being a victim of rape, mental and physical abuse.
At age 11, he was fortunate to have a father figure in his life but at that time,
he was withdrawn and embarrassed to the point of wanting to commit suicide.
With this in mind, he promised to do something before he dies to empower men, those who have gone through similar situations.
Hence, the conceptualisation of the competition, to allow men to find their identities in society.
In 2000, he had planned a competition called Mr Guyana Ambassador, involving macho men to be mentors in society, but it never materialised.
Again, in 2012, he held an audition for the Mr Guyana and was successful in getting six contestants, but due to some ill minds in society, the competition was squashed.
Two years later, he was happy to announce the launch of the inaugural Mr Guyana International that will be hosted under the theme, “True sons of the soil”.
He explained that five of the 11 contestants will be
representing Guyana at the international competitions –Mr International, Mr Global International, Mr World, Mr Caribbean International and Mr Caribbean.
It will be a perfect opportunity to showcase Guyanese men as positive and influential people in society.
Meanwhile, the local competition will have several segments to test the contestants’ strengths.
These include a community spirit building Fun Day on October 19, a swimwear and fashion challenge on October 24, a talent and a question and answer aspect on October 29.
The grand finale will be held on November 2.
Burnett is calling on the media to sell the event for what it is and not “Another male pageant with gay men” – what some people perceived it to be.
Now that it’s clear we’re getting elections sooner than later, commentators are coming out of the woodwork – and even crawling from under rocks – to give their two-cents worth. But unfortunately, most comments are so filled with self-interest, they just amount to wasting the hundreds of carbon-sequestering trees it took to print their “punditry” in the papers.
Take Ralph Ramkarran – ex-Speaker, ex-PPP Ex-Co and ex-Presidential candidate. He went on a riff last week about which “class” voted for the PPP/C and PNC. This Eyewitness assumed for a fella who spent five decades (?) in a Marxist Leninist party, there would’ve been some understanding of this very precise term.
Is he relating class, as Marx did, to the relations of production?? You’d hope so, wouldn’t you?? So what the hell is this “middle class” he went on and on about?? Or was he following Weber and linking class to power and status?? Or as the populists do just to jobs and income or cultural pretences?? This lack of semantic preciseness landed him into all sorts of contortions in his piece. If “class” is the signifier of political behaviour – then how the heck can one talk about “African and Indian middle classes”?? If this identical “class” behaves differently according to “race”, what’s the point in throwing in “class” as a mode of analysis? Isn’t Ramkarran admitting that “race” is a more fundamental category than “class”? Inquiring minds want to know.
So using that the Humpty Dumpty conception of words (when I use a word, “Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone”, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less). Ramkarran declares that the African Guyanese “middle class” decamped from PNC/APNU in 2006 for the AFC and returned in 2011. On the other hand, the “working class” did the disappearing act to the PPP/C in 2011.
But if you’re going to make these assertions (forget about what poll Ramkarran was using – Dick’s or Bisram’s) you’d hope Ramkarran would’ve tied the variable (voting behaviour) to the crucial constant (race). That is, when (African) Trotman headed AFC he got African votes and when (Indian) Ramjattan did so in 2011, the former jumped ship and fellow Indians came aboard.
But fellas like Ramkarran will never connect these dots to show “race” as the key variable in Guyanese voting. That’s not intellectually respectable to his “class”!
This Eyewitness is disappointed with Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon’s description of the Government – of which he’s the Cabinet Spokesman! –as a “minority Government”. What the heck does this mean? He seems to have succumbed to the Opposition’s pressure to so describe the Government in an effort to reduce its legitimacy in the eyes of the electorate. The better to then use whatever outlandish means to depose it.
Every country has rules, encapsulated in its Constitution, as to how the Government can be formed. In the US, there have been numerous instances when the elected Government didn’t have the majority in the Senate or the Congress. This Eyewitness dares anyone to cite even a single instance where such a Government was called a “minority one”. Electing the Government is like being pregnant – either you are or you’re not.
But if Dr Luncheon wanted to connect the Government to the support it garnered at the polls –let’s say he wants to comment on voting patterns – then he should’ve talked about a “PLURALITY Government”. By our Constitution, a party needs a PLURALITY, not a minority, of votes to form the Government.
After his “feral animal” faux pas, Dr Luncheon should’ve become more circumspect in his language.
Now we wonder why Ramkarran finked out to contrapose the “middle class” with “working class”. The first is the popular sociological usage while the latter is Marxist.
Aren’t those below the “middle class” the “lower” class??
Education Minister Priya Manickchand said while there is much to celebrate, there is much more work to be done to bring the education system to its optimal standard.
The Minister, in a statement to mark Education Month 2014, said the Government continues to do its part to provide adequate resources to service the Education Sector so that the nation’s future leaders are afforded the best education they can get have.
Education Month 2014 is being celebrated under the theme “Literate by Grade Four through consistent home, school and community involvement”.
Manickchand said as the Education Month theme this year suggests, the Ministry is paying strict attention to early childhood education.
She said the focus is on establishing literacy at an early age, ensuring young children grasp the concepts of literacy that are intrinsic to their further development in academia and life.
Achieving literacy by Grade Four requires a strong partnership between and among the Education Ministry, schools, parents and children.
“We have to work together assiduously to ensure we positively change the literacy level of our children. The Government and the Ministry can invest and craft policies to ensure we enhance our literacy levels, but ultimately success will be achieved when parents become more interested and play a more active role in their children’s school life,” the Minister said.
She added: “We begin another promising and exciting year of teaching and learning and progressive growth in an education system that has shown remarkable improvements over the last two decades.
Investment
“Our education system today has arisen from a deficient and decrepit state where it teetered along the brink of destruction, with very meagre investments being made in it, and with pass rates of approximately 22 per cent. The promising structure it has become as a result of unmatched investment being made by Government results in pass rates of 60 per cent.”
She pointed out that Education Month 2014 comes at a time when, amid all that Government has done and continues to do, it is on the brink of a no-confidence motion by the political Opposition.
“Notwithstanding the $38 billion allocated to the education sector in Budget 2014 being the most money ever invested by a
Government in education in the history of Guyana, the politics of the Opposition is trying to undermine this investment by asking the PPP/C Government to resign. That Guyana, under this Government, is the first country in the Western hemisphere to grant each child in the public school system $10,000, an approximation of US$50, the profoundly immoral politics of the Opposition is trying to derail the progress being made by this Government,” Manickchand said.
She noted that Guyana is currently witnessing unprecedented growth in the education sector with the achievement of Universal Primary Education.
“Every child in Guyana of the primary age cohort has access to a primary school. This did not just happen. This achievement is as a result of strategic Government investment with a view to bolstering the primary sector of the education system. And should the Government be allowed to serve its constitutional five-year term, then Guyana would have achieved Universal Secondary Education,” the Minister said.
Approximately 85 per cent of children attend nursery school.
“Such is the trajectory of the progress made in our education system that we have the most trained teachers we have ever had in the history of Guyana with just about 70 per cent of our teachers being trained.
n 1991, we had 58 per cent trained teachers in the education system,” Manickchand said.
President Donald Ramotar has announced that following consultations with Opposition Leader, David Granger, the members to the four Service Commissions are scheduled to be sworn in, in the new week.
The four Service Commissions are: the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Teaching Service Commission (TSC), the Public Service Commission and the Police Service Commission.
The Head of State nevertheless lamented the slothful pace at which the Parliament is moving with regards to the other constitutional commissions, including the Rights of the Child, which are yet to be addressed.
With the exception
of the TSC, parliamentary inputs into the membership of the other three had to be garnered. Nominations through the parliamentary procedure include: former Justice Lennox Perry for the JSC; Patrick Yarde and Patricia Went for the Public Service Commission and Harold Martin, Keith John, Omesh Satyanand and Alvin Smith for the Police Service Commission.
Discussions between the President and the Opposition Leader resulted in the appointment of Leila Ramson, Mayda Persaud and Allan Monroe for the TSC; former Justice Prem Persaud for the JSC and Carvil Duncan, Cecil Seepersaud, and Vidya Looknauth for the Public Service Commission.
First Lady Deolatchmie Ramotar has extended greetings on behalf of the First Lady Foundation to the indigenous peoples of Guyana on the occasion of Amerindian Heritage Month.
The First Lady in a release said many observances during this month will focus on the rich cul -
ture and other traditions of the Amerindian people and their positive impact on the country’s cultural mosaic as a whole.
“I urge continued respect for our indigenous peoples and for all Guyana to celebrate their achievements while respecting their traditional way of life. Happy Amerindian Heritage Month 2014!” the statement concluded.
The Caribbean recorded a rise in visitor arrivals during the first half of this year, keeping pace with the world average.
The Region enjoyed a 4.3 per cent increase during the first six months of the 2014, much in line with the world average of 4.7 per cent, the Director of Research and Information Technology at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Winfield Griffith, said last week.
Griffith revealed that just under 14 million longstay tourists visited the Caribbean between January and June, with nearly half this number (6.87 million) coming from the US compared to 6.61 million during the same period in 2013. This represents a 3.9 per cent rise in arrivals from the US market.
“There is enough evidence to suggest that there is growing economic confidence in the Region’s biggest neighbour and this is releasing much pent-up travel demand caused by a long re-
cessionary period,” Griffith said.
The CTO research head stated that just 21 countries in the Region were able to breakdown their tourist arrivals by destination in time for the report. From the most recent figures, it was clear that more Europeans and Canadians are gravitating to the Region showing increases of six per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively.
For the winter period
represented by the first four months of the year, at least five countries reported double digit growth. These destinations continue to power through the current summer showing signs of doing exceptionally well this year. Griffith also announced that the cruise sector enjoyed an eight per cent increase in passenger arrivals to reach 13.1 million after the first two quarters of 2014.
More than two weeks after Mark London, a mason was shot and killed in an attempted robbery at Kaneville, Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD), the Police are still to arrest the shooter.
Guyana Times understands that the Police have questioned the main eyewitness Kelan Roger-Beet, who claimed from all indications, the incident was not an attempted robbery.
The eyewitness told investigators that he and London were sitting on a koker when the gunman approached them, whipped out a gun and aimed it at London. In the process, he told
London to “pass the thing” and discharged a round, but it missed London’s leg.
Roger-Beet and London subsequently ran away from the lone gunman, but London was later shot and ran a short distance before collapsing.
The eyewitness reportedly told ranks that a few nights before the shooting, he saw the shooter arguing with a relative of his.
However, it was reported that London and his friend were walking in Second Field, Kaneville when he was attacked by three men on bicycles, who demanded that he hand over his mobile phone and
gold chain.
London reportedly put up a fight during which he was shot. As a result, he ran a short distance but subsequently collapsed and died on the roadway.
The robbers did not succeed in relieving the man of the items. The Police have launched a manhunt for the three men who were seen escaping on pedal cycles.
Residents say they saw the young man running, holding his chest, but he suddenly collapsed. They immediately alerted Police who took some time to arrive on the scene.
Investigations are continuing.
Two persons are in Police custody following a robbery and alleged rape committed on a family living on the Corentyne. The incident occurred approximately 21:00h on Tuesday. In a case that sent shockwaves through the
small community, four men, three of whom were masked, pounced on the family of five who were securing their premises.
According to information received, the businessman operates a small grocery business and was about to close for the night when the four men entered the yard from a side fence.
Upon entering the business place, three of the four men who were armed with handguns and the other with a cutlass, reportedly tied the businessman’s hands behind his back and left him in the shop.
The men then went into the house and took out the four ladies, his wife, 33, and daughters, ages 18, 15 and 14 and sexually assaulted them.
They reportedly took turns in committing the acts. After they were done, they stripped the ladies of their jewellery, took away their cellphones and demanded cash. Already in fear, the businessman’s wife handed over $50,000 to the bandits.
The male occupant after managing to free himself, quickly called the Police, who responded promptly. As bandits were about to leave the home, the Police arrived, resulting in an exchange of gunfire, but the men successful escaped.
The Police later intercepted a motor car suspected to be the getaway car. The driver is presently in custody assisting with investigations.
The bandit who was not wearing a mask during the robbery was also identified, reports say.
According to reports, the men are not from the area.
In light of the horrific incident, acting Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud visited the family’s home, offering the Force’s commitment to ensuring that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice.
The acting Commissioner related that the family has been receiving counselling.
The Police are continuing their investigations.
Satiricus was proud. Proud that in its behaviour, the Opposition Pee an’ See (aka APANU) and the KFC refused to be swayed by foreign customs but were steadfastly following Guyanese traditions.
No, Satiricus wasn’t talking about brukking up the place when they lost elections. Plenty other politicians in plenty countries did that, not only Pee an’ See and KFC. “Wasn’t old time fast bowler and now fundamentalist Islamist politician Imran Khan laying siege to the democratically elected Government of Nawaz Shariff right now?” thought Satiricus.
No! What Satiricus was talking about was the soon to be consummated wedding between Pee an’ See and the KFC. None of that “rushing to the altar” if you’re in love, like in those foreign climes. No Sireee! Hey!! What’s love got to do with it?? It’s all about your interests, no?? Guyanese first “live home” for years, make some children, and THEN get married. Very often the children can be flower girls and ushers and so on. Saves money.
And so here we have it that the Pee an’ See and the KFC have been living together and frolicking under the sheets for three years. They had created so many lively children – the Linden riots, the Agricola blockade, the Naked Paddy Protest. And now, the recently-riggedinto-office Pee an’ See leader GrainJa has just dropped to his knees and asked Rum Jhaat to officially tie the nuptial knot! Ooooooo, how sweet!!!
Satiricus was sure the children would show up at the wedding as “flower boys and girls”. Might get rambunctious though...but what the heck, thought Satiricus. But why was Rum Jhaat playing so hard to get?? The whole world knew what had gone on (or in) under the sheets of the Opposition bed.
The groans and moans and the joint positions in the Big House at Stabroek said it all. Was he afraid of his reputation if he hitched up officially with GrainJa? What reputation? That he was easy? All GrainJa had to do was offer him some scotch – and that was it! Everything gone fuh channa, thought Satiricus!
The thing was, GrainJa was an honourable man. And even though it was late in the day, he wanted to do the right thing. “C’mon Rum Jhaat...maybe the official ceremony might bring back the excitement in bed,” said Satiricus aloud. “Say yes!! It’s a Guyanese tradition! Look how many more children you and GrainJa will make to join Linden and the others.”
The National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China, in continuance of their friendly relations and generosity will be making a donation of medical equipment to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
According to a release, the equipment, valued $15 million, will be used in the departments of Anaesthesia, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Pathology, General Surgery,
Orthopaedics, Internal Medicine, Acupuncture and Radiology and will greatly improve the medical services offered to patients. The donation handover will be held on Tuesday at the Resource Centre, GPHC Southern Compound and will commence at 15:00h. Ten doctors of the Chinese Medical Team of June, 2014 will be present at this event and among the speakers will be Health Minister, Dr Bheri Ramsaran and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Limin.
Riaz Seecharan, the son of Donald and Fariza Seecharan, was called to the Bar of Guyana on Friday. His petition was presented by the Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Mohabir Anil Nandlall before Justice Brassington Reynolds.
Nandlall, in presenting the petition, spoke of Seecharan’s academic and scholastic achievements and the high level of competence he displayed during his short stint at the Office of the Attorney General.
He indicated to the court that Seecharan, a product of two parents who are both practising Attorneys in Trinidad and Tobago, showed distinction practising out of their law firm Shaama Seecharan and Company based in the heart of the legal district in Port of Spain.
The Attorney General went on to provide the example of the distinguished regional jurists selected for the current Commission being held opposite the very courtroom the call was taking place.
He went on to state that he would be meeting with the Council of Legal Education, of which he is a member, soon to discuss the framework for training Attorneys regionally which has not been examined since its initial institutionalisation.
The court, in accepting
the petition, stated that the fact that the Attorney General came himself to present the petition was testament to Seecharan’s ability and that it was sure that the young Attorney would contribute to developing the Bar locally.
In response, Seecharan expressed his gratitude towards the Attorney General and the court. He went on to state that his presence in Guyana was to encourage the development of a regional jurisprudence.
He related to the court a recent appearance at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in which he was the only person physically in the courtroom in Trinidad as the other Attorneys were in their respective Caribbean territories communicating to the court via teleconference.
Seecharan went on to indicate the greater role that mediation was playing in the courts of Trinidad and Tobago through the success of its pilot project and the implementation of a Practice Direction for Civil Litigation to assist in a timely and cost-effective resolution of matters, and suggested that this new paradigm would eventually spread throughout the Caribbean.
Seecharan indicated his intention to contribute to Caribbean jurisprudence and that competent advocates would be needed both in and out of the courtroom
The body of 18 yearold Shawn “Denzil” Atkinson of Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EDB) who went missing on Friday afternoon after plunging into a canal at Land of Canaan, EBD was fished out some time after 17:45h.
After hours under the black water, the body of the young man, who had been employed with the Barama Company Limited for the past two years as a sawmill labourer, was pulled by relatives and colleagues. His
body, according to reports, was taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Malinda Sutherland, the mother of the teen, was devastated about her son’s death. She stated that she last saw her son when he left home on Friday morning. Atkinson had indicated that he was chosen to play on the cricket team during the Fun Day and he was all excited.
to facilitate same.
Seecharan holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the University of Waterloo in Ontario,
Canada in Legal Studies and Computer Science which he completed in 2007. He completed the di-
rect entrant programme at the Cave Hill Campus, Barbados at the University of the West Indies, obtaining his Bachelor of Law
with Honours in 2009.
Seecharan went on to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law from the BPP Law School, London, England and the Bar Professional Training Course from the BPP Law School, London, England with Very Competent designation.
He was called as an Utter Barrister in England and Wales, having completed his dining at the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn in 2011.
Seecharan was called to the Bar in Trinidad and Tobago in 2012 and has since been practising as an Attorney in that jurisdiction as an advocate.
He has obtained his Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School and is certified by the ADR Group in London, England as a Civil and Commercial Mediator.
New Amsterdam will be 223 years on Monday. The town established by the Dutch in 1791 is the oldest town in Guyana. However, the municipality of New Amsterdam was established in 1891, exactly 100 years after it was granted township.
On September 1 of that year, the municipality was established with the first Mayor being Neil Ross McKennon. Since then, the municipality has seen a total of 63 Mayors. In observance of the municipality’s 223rd anniversary, a thanks giving service has been planned for Monday at the historic town hall at 10:00h.
Addressing the media on the celebrations on Monday, Deputy Mayor Harold Dabydeen noted that several activities have been planned, but those will be announced at the thanks giving service.
Traditionally, New Amsterdam has planned the Town Week during the month of September as part
of the celebrations, but no information on this was disclosed.
Meanwhile, the towns of Corriverton and Rose Hall, which also celebrate their anniversary in September, have already announced plans for their Town Day celebrations.
New Amsterdam was chosen by the Dutch in the
18th century as it was close to the Atlantic and presented a strategic location for security of the
Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang on Friday quashed a recent ruling by the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown to send acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba on administrative leave.
Justice Chang, in handing down the ruling on Friday afternoon, stated that it would be ultra vires for the Mayor and City Councillors to take such a decision.
Mayor Hamilton Greene said he was unaware of any motion or appeals filed in the High Court.
According to him, it was onus on the judicial system to ensure that the defendants in any case are granted due time to present their defense before a decision is made by any judge or judicial officer.
Only recently, the Mayor Hamilton Greene and some of Georgetown’s Councillors passed a no-confidence motion against the acting Town Clerk at a statutory meeting.
Speaking to Guyana
Times shortly after the ruling was handed down by the acting Chief Justice, Sooba said she felt vindicated by the decision.
Although the motion was passed at the Council to send Sooba on administrative leave, she had continued to perform her duties as Town Clerk.
A day after she was sent on leave by the Council, Sooba reported for work only to find the entrances and exits to her office were heavily barricaded.
Local Government and Regional Development Minister Norman Whittaker had maintained that the Council does not have the authority to impose such sanctions on the acting Town Clerk.
In addition, after the Mayor and Councillors had moved to the courts to have the signature of Sooba nullified and deemed defunct, a move which did not receive the support of the Local Government Minister.
Any commuter in Guyana will tell you that to go from one place to another by “hire car” or by minibus is often a life and death gamble. Many hire car drivers drink and drive, they speed and drive recklessly. There is no regard for the lives of passengers, no respect for pedestrians, no care for cyclists, no respect for life at all, and certainly no respect for the law.
Minibus operators are notorious for crudeness, rudeness, recklessness and aggression. Women, especially, are subjected to all manner of abuse. They get pulled and tugged, “feeled up” and fondled. And, because they cannot or would not object, they just accept it.
We pay these chaps to take us from one place to another and put our lives in danger. The excuse that they make for recklessness and speeding is that the competition is fierce. The race is to get ahead of the vehicle in front so that the next commuter can be grabbed up.
This form of transportation is erroneously called “public transportation”. It is really private transportation for the public to travel. Many of our travelling citizens learn to pray because of these reckless drivers. Too often, their prayers go unanswered and injury and death result.
Apart from the few truly courteous and responsible drivers out there, there is one good side to all of this. And that is these vehicles
that fetch us from here to there provide an income for many. Therefore, it would be both self-defeating and silly to take them all off the road. Again, we do not want more people to join the ranks of the unemployed.
That said, the transportation to which our public is subject is dangerous, inefficient, and time-wasting. But we all know that something needs to be done to improve the means by which our citizens can travel. More than 100 years ago, a place like Argentina had an underground railway. That is how far back we are in Guyana. We had a basic railway many years ago. Forbes Burnham, in his twisted thinking, dismantled it. It was too “imperial” or some such rubbish.
The danger is not the only problem we have. Almost all business is padlocked jealously in Georgetown. We hear no whimper that this should change and that some things must be efficiently decentralised into Essequibo and Berbice. The problem is time wastage.
It takes an entire day to travel from Berbice to do some simple piece of business. Much of this time is spent sweating it out in a taxi or minibus. So a journey that should take three hours two-way takes six or seven hours, much of it spent waiting for a full load.
In our country, time does not count for much,
From page 11
The grieving mother recalled being at home when she received a call from a supervisor informing her of the devastating news. She said she immediately rushed to the scene where she saw several persons searching the area.
The woman added that from information received, her son struck a ball into the water and went to get it when he met his demise. He reportedly enquired about the depth of the canal and despite being warned by colleagues against jumping overboard, he undressed and took the deadly plunge.
A friend saw him sinking and went to his rescue but to no avail.
Alistair Nicholas, a best friend of the young man, in a telephone interview, told Guyana Times that they were playing cricket earlier in the day and suddenly the young man who could not
swim asked him to go into the water with him.
The best friend said that he was adamant and ignored the request. He subsequently left the area and went to the shop, but upon his return, he saw a gathering at the canal. Upon enquiring, he was told that the Atkinson had plunged overboard.
He frantically told them that Atkinson could not swim. Guyana Times understands that while the young man was going beneath the water, he shouted for help but, it was until a while persons in the area went to his recue.
It took them sometime to find the body since the canal had a lot of moss.
Atkinson leaves to mourn his parents and six siblings. His body is at the Lyken’s Funeral home and is awaiting post-mortem examination.
so we waste it as easily as we waste our talent. We have not yet understood that time spent waiting and travelling is time spent not working. This has negative implications on the national economy and it wears down the energy in
our handful of truly talented Guyanese. Handful, because we really have not found a way to identify, cultivate, employ and deploy our talented people.
A sensible idea in recent times has come from Minister Robeson Benn. The Minister’s basic idea was to bring back the big buses that served the public so well in the old days. We can build on this idea. We do not necessarily have to have these enormous gas-guzzling things.
Our Government can buy a fleet of medium-sized hybrid buses – 20-seaters, maybe. These can leave identified areas at specific times every hour on the hour. We can also have identified bus stops along the way for travellers going
to shorter destinations.
There should be time clocks for drivers at departure and destination points as a form of monitoring.
For instance, buses must leave Georgetown every hour, whether full or not.
Counting the stops along the way, the bus should be in Skeldon within a certain period. In between, we can have brief rest stops which can also serve as monitoring stations. Police stations can be outfitted for this quite easily.
Drivers of these buses must be carefully selected and must be dressed in (say) Guyana Transportation System uniforms. The buses can also be out-fitted with safety pedals that prevent speeding or we can use modern technology to
record speeding. Our public transportation will be noted for the following: timeliness, safety, cleanliness, courtesy, service to the elderly and the disabled, and dependability.
If we can do this, we will be creating jobs, making sure our citizens travel safely and in comfort, and saving time. Our people can actually plan their days with confidence. It is being done in too many other parts of the world to count. Learning takes the will to learn. Ignorance is about not knowing something; deep and dangerous ignorance is about not being willing to learn. That is how individuals and nations remain backward.
The Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), in collaboration with the Zakaat House of Kuwait, on Saturday held its annual Orphans and Vulnerable Children Fun Day at the Muslim Youth Organisation, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.
The occasion was also the graduation ceremony for the students who excelled at the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
The CIOG initiated the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Sponsorship Programme in 1993. The programme started with 14 children, but now have 365 stu-
dents. The children during the fun day had a jolly time, playing various games and enjoying a sumptuous lunch and snack.
Zakaat House of Kuwait representative in Guyana Sheik Moen ul-Hack told Guyana Times that all the students who sat the examinations did well.
He stated that the organisation has helped many students from various religious backgrounds, be it Christian, Islamic or Hindu.
Ul-Hack stated that each child receives a monthly stipend, school clothes and gear, textbooks, medical examinations, medications and financial assistance for extra lessons and exam fees.
These items are donated by members of local communities, Guyanese living in the USA, Canada and United Kingdom, the West Indies and a foreign Islamic Organisation in Kuwait.
The programme is an ongoing one and students are urged to make use of the help and guidance being offered by the CIOG and the Zakaat House of Kuwait. The door is always open to extend a helping hand to such students. The occasion was addressed by Culture, Youth and Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony.
At 51, it can hardly be argued that the University of Guyana (UG) is playing an integral role in the overall growth and democratisation of Guyana. The University appears to be locked away in the Stone Age and unwilling to accept the socio-economic and political realities that are prevailing at this time in the country.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the University has exiled itself and continues to behave as though it is deaf and dumb even when it should be very vocal on issues affecting the overall development of this nation-state.
The University’s posture suggests that it does not see the seriousness in conducting value-based quantitative and qualitative research with the aim of coming up with ground breaking solutions to problems being faced here in all the various sectors.
It is worrisome that UG has not piloted and published a single research paper, academic or otherwise, on what can be done to make the sugar industry viable or come out of the slums in which it has found itself.
Surely, UG is training persons in the area of international relations, politics and public management, yet it has failed miserably to even offer a sound academic perspective on the successes or failures of the new parliamentary dispensation with a view of offering an independent analyss.
It appears happy and content with being a training ground for labour, instead of an institution piloting change and impacting the country’s development trajectory through innovative research findings, science and technology.
While our University remains in exile at Turkeyen, other universities within the Caricom bloc are reshaping various aspects of national life in their respective countries with the use of think-tanks, discussion forums, debates, consultative workshops and joint ventures.
This new method recognises the need for a more hands-on approach to be taken by universities to impact their space.
Guyanese must accept that UG, five decades after its establishment, is still struggling to modernise the way it does business, improve the quality of education offered as far as courses and lecturers are concerned, and assert itself as a true academic institution with an agenda of contributing to Guyana’s forward movement.
Too much time is being spent at the University on settling political scores and infighting when there is obviously a lot of work needed to reform the manner in which the institution executes its function.
The time for squabbles with staff is over and focus must now be faced on catapulting the entity into the 21st Century. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Forget the past” – so it is now time for the Education Ministry, the UG Administration and partners to move the discussion past student fees, repayment of loans, work stoppages due to the actions of unions, and the endemic politics which started as far back as 1963.
The discussion must be centred on embarking on bold research and projects in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with the aim of solving domestic problems and providing the Region with a model of how a tertiary institution can drive change through the use of academics.
The energy that is directed at organising anniversary events to celebrate whenever the University reaches another milestone must be redirected at conducting a serious analysis and audit of the “real” impact that UG has had on this nation state, apart from graduating thousands who still cannot find jobs.
Unless, the University finds its voice, no one will take it seriously and the Government will continue to invest millions of taxpayers dollars for the Vice Chancellor and his amply qualified team, to continue the status quo.
Natural Resources and Environment
Minister Robert Persaud said though the prices for gold are not at the best levels, but he remains confident that miners through their proven resilience will overcome the current difficult patch.
He expressed the sentiments at Pork knocker’s Day held at Bartica as part of the Mining Week activities.
The Minister added that with the support of the Government and through the regulatory agency in partnership with the mining association, the necessary steps to reduce the im-
attention in all of the mining districts and the fact that we brought an international partner on to work with both Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the level of enhanced action that will be taken in this regard,” the Minister stated.
Meanwhile, President Donald Ramotar said that gold has played an important role in the country’s development, not only in the creation of wealth but also Guyanese literature.
“Take into consideration
littering problem Barticians are facing, noting that antilittering laws would be enforced.
Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA)
President Patrick Harding said the Association recognises the contribution of miners to the Guyanese economy, especially in 2013 when the record declaration was set.
He added that thus far for 2014, gold production is behind target but said nevertheless, the GGDMA is working to curb some of the challenges miners face and “the last quarter is always better than the first quar-
pact of low gold prices and ensure production and continued expansion, can be taken.
He added that the Ministry recognises also that declaration has been below what it was for the same period last year, but said the Government remains positive that there will be some level of increase since an increased level of production in the mining areas due to some interventions made by the Ministry, is expected.
“Our activities aren’t only about production and producing more but we have strong social and environmental responsibilities,” the Minister said while adding that “The issues of pollution, whether it’s through garbage or mining activities, are getting the priority attention of our Government and our agency.”
As a result, monitoring has been enhanced in the Mazaruni and Cuyuni and their tributaries. He made mention of the recent collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) where bio-assessment will be carried out at Cuyuni, which will entail looking at interventions and dealing with issues of pollution.
“This will be given more
(Wilson) Harris’s work, many of which were inspired. You can go down annals of history and down the centuries, as part of our own Guyanese development, they have been inspired also by the efforts in mining.”
“Last year was an extremely good year for miners with the huge kind of mining production such as Omai; it was the small and medium-scale miners that have allowed us to surpass and hit the highest production in our history last year. I want to assure you that has been recognised by our Government and the role that they have played.
“Moreover, we are expecting some more heavy investment into this area, the last two weeks I visited the Aurora mines in the Cuyuni area, and that will be bigger than the Omai production, we had some years ago. Also Troy Resources, another mine is hoping to come into operation in another year’s time. Therefore, on the horizon we should see Guyana being placed higher and higher on the level as far as importance where mining is concerned,” the President said.
Meanwhile, Region Seven Chairman Gordon Bradford spoke about the
ter”.
Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC)
Chairman Clinton Williams urged that miners expand to other forms of income and reiterated that mining resources are non-renewable.
He stated that the
President Donald Ramotar is satisfied with the pace of the current City cleanup, noting that many areas are beginning to look far better.
“The clean-up campaign of our country is a major priority for our Government. In addition to the money in the budget that went to the NDC [Neighbourhood Democratic Council] and RDC [Regional Democratic Council] we had a special amount put aside, $1 billion to clean up the country,” he reminded.
“Seven main canals in
the city are being de-silted, hopefully that will reduce the incidence of flooding during the rainy period in our country. There also has to be a lot of work in the internal drains so that the water can get to the main canal, but we are working strongly on that.”
According to the Head of State, the rest of the country will also benefit as activities will commence shortly and more equipment will be provided to the NDCs towards this effort.
“Important, is the maintenance of the condition,
once we would have gotten the country back in the pristine state, getting communities involved is important so that we can maintain (them).”
The President alluded to the fact that the exercise will have spin-off benefits for citizens, the main one being health.
On the issue of sustainability, the President noted that citizens will have to play their role and said he was pleased to see that the initiative is engaging community groups.
As it relates to City Hall, the President called on the Council to show more maturity in the handling of their affairs.
“I think it’s a general pattern that being obstructionist part of the Opposition its clear, there seems to be no interest on the side of the Opposition regardless of which branch of Government they are operating in, not to try to see progress taking place.”
During the 2014 National Budget, a total of $1 billion was earmarked for the “Clean-up my country” initiative of which $500 million was set aside for the City.
A Technical Committee
Persons engaging in the campaign in the City
comprising representatives from different ministries and agencies has been established to spearhead the clean- up exercise.
The Local Government Ministry will be the executing agency for this exercise while stakeholders include,
the Ministries of Tourism, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Public Works, and Housing and Water, and the private sector, City Council and civil society, including NGOs and volunteers group. Works to be undertaken include the desilting of main canals and drains in the City, rehabilitation of Le Repentir Cemetery, restoration of kokers and sluices which were out of operation and the general clean up of Georgetown and its environs.
“Hunger leads to conflict and conflict exacerbates hunger” − FAO’s Graziano da Silva
“Hunger leads to conflict and conflict exacerbates hunger,” Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General José Graziano da Silva said at the sixth Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC).
The two-day (August 2930) event was being held in Bali, Indonesia under the theme “Unity in Diversity: Celebrating Diversity for Common and Shared Values”.
Participants include UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon, political leaders, and representatives of international and regional bodies, the private sector and civil society.
In his statement, Graziano da Silva noted how hunger and poverty are at the root of many conflicts and political fallouts that have produced more crises in the world than natural disasters.
He cited for example how the steep increase in food prices in 2008 sparked riots in many countries over rice, bread, or disputes over access to land and water and how such social conflict led to the fall of several Governments.
The FAO Director General said that providing food security for all people was an essential requirement “to build the future we want – a peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and tolerant future”.
Development cannot be sustainable if millions of people are left behind – a concept that “echoes the values from many different religions”, the FAO Director General added.
In his statement, Graziano da Silva noted that providing food security and combating poverty require dialogue between different cultures, faiths and races in accordance with the founding principles of UNAOC with which FAO has reached an understanding to work together.
Diversity is central to the way FAO as an organisation with 194 member states works in providing technical expertise in fisheries, agriculture, forestry and nutrition, the Director General noted.
The partnership between
FAO and UNAOC will help to ensure that food can be used as a bridge to improve cross-cultural relations and to promote shared prosperity, Graziano da Silva said. UNAOC which is supported by 114 states and 25 international organisations works to develop innovative models to defuse tensions that stem from religious, ethnic and cultural differences.
UNAOC’s sixth Global Forum includes sessions dealing with promoting harmony through inter-religious and cross-cultural dialogue, the role of women in fostering understanding among cultures and social inclusion and migration.
Discussions will also focus on the Millenium Development Goals and the post-2015 agenda.
Veteran West Indies left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul says one of his main career goals now is to use his vast experience to help develop the new generation of batsmen.
Chanderpaul, who turned 40 two weeks ago, is in the twilight of an illustrious career that has seen him accumulate 11,414 runs from a record 156 Tests. He believes his two decades in international cricket has equipped him to be a mentor to younger players.
“There are some goals I want to achieve and hopefully I can get there. But I want to help the young guys in the team and wherever I go I want to help as much as I can,” Chanderpaul said.
“There are a lot of young fellas out there who, when they are batting, they make a lot of mistakes and you try to help as much as you can. You have so many experiences over the years – you experience a lot just playing – so it is easier for me to pick up things but the younger fellas are not going to realise what they are doing wrong sometimes.
“So you try to help as much as you can in pointing out their mistakes … but pointing out is not all because you have to help them to correct their mistakes. These are some of the things I’m hoping to do for the younger fellas.”
Chanderpaul lies second on the West Indies list of all-time Test run-scorers, and will be looking to add to his tally when he lines up against Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series at Arnos Vale in St Vincent starting September 5.
He will turn out for St Kitts in the three-day tour match against Bangladesh which started on Saturday, as he vies for batting practice ahead of the upcoming series. He has not played competitive cricket now for almost a month, since ending his stint with Derbyshire in the English County Championship.
“It’s always good to be with a bunch of young fellows playing and I’m hoping I can help them a bit,” he said.
“I left England since the end of July and I’ve been in Guyana so I’ve been looking forward to getting some practice. Hopefully I can get enough batting in this game and that it helps in the Test series.”
Chanderpaul likes the fact West Indies swept the preceding threematch one-day series, pointing out it augured well for players’ confidence.
“It’s always good to have the momentum going into the Test series. It’s a new format but hopefully the guys come up and do as well,” he said.
“The batters have been getting some runs and hopefully they can carry on and do as well as they have been doing in the one-day series.”
Despite his age, Chanderpaul powers are yet to decline. He has averaged 55 over the last year which has helped to keep his career average at 51.
The last time he faced Bangladesh in a Test series two years ago, he hit an unbeaten double hundred in the first Test in Dhaka and an unbeaten hundred in the second Test at Khulna.
With the first Test just a week away and the second Test in St Lucia just days after, Chanderpaul said he would prepare the same way he always has done.
“No one knows what’s going to happen in their lives but I’m still doing the same things I have always been doing. I did it just a couple days ago – train as hard as I can the same way and preparing the same way,” he said.
“I have not played a lot at either venue so I don’t know what to expect. I just have to go and get accustomed to the wickets especially here in the Caribbean because I’ve been playing in England where the ball bounces a bit more, whereas the wickets in the Caribbean the ball stays a bit lower.” (CMC)
The feature dominoes game, held to celebrate the 52nd birth anniversary of New York-based Guyanese Michael Rampersaud, turned out to be a twoteam affair at the Everest Cricket Club pavilion on Friday night as the other contesting side failed to provide any opposition to the top two.
International Six were forced to stave off the challenge of King’s Six to emerge winners with 80 games, four more than their opponents who tallied 76, with Canal Six way behind on a disappointing 55 games.
The game became a two-team contest from the onset after Canal Six never recovered from a bad start with three of their playersS. Roopram, Kedar Seopaul and Muggo Sukhai- going down lover’s lane.
Skipper Manniram Shew led from the front for the eventual winners with 16 games and got excellent support from Colin Cave (15), Ron Callender (15) and Colin
The top players for King’s Six were Nazim Ali and Imran Ali with 16 games each, while there were 13 each for Basil Jeet and Cecil Orie. Bissoondial Madhu provided the lone opposition for Canal Six, marking 15 games. The game, which was sponsored by Shew’s General Store of Leopold Street, Georgetown, saw the winner and first runner-up teams receiving trophies, as well as the top three players in the respective teams. The players receiving trophies were Shew of International Six, Imran Ali of King’s Six and Madhu of Canal Six
Former West Indies batsman Gordon Greenidge has urged the West Indies cricket set-up to refrain from judging Clive Lloyd, the new convener of the selection panel, on short-term results. Greenidge also wanted Lloyd to be given the liberty to establish his methods, to help improve the performance of the West Indies team.
Lloyd was appointed head of the selection panel earlier this month on a two-year contract along with former fast bowlers Courtney Walsh and Eldine Baptiste who replaced Clyde Butts and Robert Haynes as selectors. Comparing the situation in the West Indies to the football club, Manchester United, which have been struggling since the departure of longtime manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Greenidge stressed that Lloyd would need time to transfer his inputs to the team.
“It is a bit like what’s happening at Manchester United,” Greenidge told Reuters. “Everyone’s expecting the new managers there to just pick up where Alex Ferguson left off - that’s impossible. The new man needs to transfer a serious input of his thinking to his team and the way he wants them to go. He needs to build a team and explain how he wants them to go forward.
“It’s the same thing with Clive Lloyd. Unfortunately his job will be measured in terms of how successful the West Indies team is, that’s always been the case, but I think a change around is necessary and he needs to do that straight away.”
Llyod recently said that his main focus as a chief selector would be to “harness talent from the regional Under-19 tournaments” by using the High
Performance Centre in Barbados to instill skills and retain them in West Indies cricket. He had also stated that former players would be brought in to fulfill different roles. Greenidge, who played 59 Tests and 57 ODIs under Lloyd’s leadership, hoped the former West Indies captain would be appreciated by the board and given the resources he needed.
“The powers-that-be need to accept Clive, appreciate him and look upon him as the person he is, someone who can get the job done,” Greenidge said. “I feel in recent times there has been a lot of disrespect shown to players who have played in the past and there has been more dictatorial behaviour happening around cricket in the Caribbean.
“I haven’t been involved for a while which is a damned shame because a lot of players who played in the past have got so much to contribute and have not been given a chance to do so.
“I just hope they recognise
Clive’s contribution to the West Indies and give him the necessary tools to work with. I don’t see a problem at all with Clive but it may be a problem with the people he’s working with or the people he reports to.”
The West Indies side has also had to cope with the departure of coach Ottis Gibson, who parted ways with the WICB before the ODI series against Bangladesh. Greenidge stressed that the board would have be patient with the new coach in the task of uniting the team.
“People are going to expect the new coach to bring an immediate turnaround and I don’t think that’s going to be possible,” he said. “It’s going to take time for whoever takes over. I just hope that whoever it is can mould the group into a better fighting unit. It’s been very fragmented over the years and hopefully the new coach can make a difference and we can get away from the insular thinking.” (Cricinfo)
By AvenAsh RAmzAn
Marlon “Fishy”
Williams brought all his experience to bear on Saturday, pipping the promising Team Coco’s rider Hamzah Eastman to narrowly win the feature event of the 38th annual National Sports Commission (NSC) 11-race programme at the inner circuit of the National Park.
The event was held to coincide with the closing of the annual Teach Them Young cycling programme, conducted by national cycling coach Hassan Mohamed and exclusively sponsored by the NSC for the past 38 years in succession.
During the dying stages of the feature 35-lap School Boys and Invitational, Williams and Eastman opened a gap from the other riders, making it a two-way fight for the top podium spot.
Pundits at the venue always felt Williams, given his strong sprinting ability, was the obvious favourite, and he did not disappoint, crossing the finish line first with race official Joseph Britton stopping the clock at one hour, 16 minutes, 04.46 seconds (01h: 16m: 04.46s).
It was by no means an easy win for “Fishy”, as the young and talented Eastman
kept pressing hard, but had to settle for second spot, missing the pole position by a matter of inches.
Williams and Eastman copped two prime prizes each, while Michael Anthony claimed three and Stephano Husbands one. Alanzo Greaves, Anthony, Robin Persaud and Mark Harris rounded off the top six positions in that order.
Other winners of the day included Rakeem Blair
(BMX Boys and Girls 12-14), Jaikarran Sukhai (Veterans Under-50), Linden Blackman (Veterans Over-50), Monty Parris (Veterans Over-60), Jamal John (Juveniles), Emanual Gayral (Mountain Bikes), Jeremiah Harrison (BMX Boys 6-9), Sherwin Sampson (BMX Boys 9-12 and 12-14) and Sherwin Forde (BMX Boys Open).
Mohamed commended the NSC for sponsoring the camp for the 38th year in succession, noting that the cycling has benefitted tremendously from the programme as new talents are unearthed annually.
Director of Sport Neil Kumar emphasised the importance of hosting such a camp and spoke of the government’s commitment to the development of not just cycling, but sport in general.
In what has become a norm over the years, Ricks and Sari Agro Industries Limited put up a brand new BMX cycle and helmet for the most promising rider of the programme. This year, the recipient was the talented Sherwin Sampson, who has been dominating the BMX 6-9 and 9-12 for close to two years.
Woodbine riding star Patrick Husbands continued his pursuit of championship leader Luis Contreras by landing a brace on Friday, as he also widened his lead on the pursuing Eurico Rosa da Silva.
A six-time champion at the prestigious race oval, Barbadian Husbands won race one over seven furlongs with Simple as That before returning to take race four over a mile and sixteenth with favourite Serious Indeed.
The double took Husbands to 87 wins for the season, now just 12 adrift of three-time defending champion Contreras, and five clear of da Silva, the 2010 champion.
Husbands leads the colony of riders in earnings with CAN$5.3 million.
He raised the curtain on the day’s action when he carried favourite Simple as That to vic-
tory by a length over the threeyear-old and upward fillies and mares.
The pair sat just off the pace set by Classic Ladedah before pressing on the turn, rallying in the stretch and getting by the leader late.
Husbands grabbed his second win of the day by making all the running with six-yearold gelding Serous Indeed, to
complete a convincing 2-1/2 length verdict. He broke the Paul Attardtrained gelding nicely, set a comfortable pace early on before getting clear on the far turn to lead by nearly four lengths. Once in the strength, Husbands kept Serious Indeed focussed and the second placed Rockinmebaby was never a threat. (CMC)
By TReisTon Joseph
Nike has been confirmed as the official sponsor of gear and uniforms for global meets that Guyana will be participating in. While the deal is a short term one, this publication was able to verify that it was struck in late July.
President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Aubrey Hutson, who confirmed the deal related that there is a possibility that the global brand that sponsored the man with the golden shoes in his heydays, Michael Johnson, might continue its support of Guyana in the future.
“It was really short notice and the deal will last for the rest of the year; we were trying to start from the Commonwealth Games, but it was too short notice. They did sponsor the World Junior team and the World Youth team, but in October I plan on going to America to lay out what we have planned for next year and hope that they will remain onboard,” Hutson told Guyana Times Sport in a telephone interview.
However, while Nike will not be paying the AAG for having their athletes wear their apparel, Hutson is positive that in the future such will develop.
“They are sponsoring warm ups, running gear and shoes all for free and even though the deal has no money involved, it is one cost factor down for us. However, I am sure
as our athletes get more recognised and we perform at a higher level, deals of such nature might be possible,” Hutson mentioned. Further, Hutson revealed that it was through Commonwealth Games 400 metres gold medalist Aliann Pompey that AAG was able to initiate talks with Nike. Meanwhile, the final two meets the AAG are looking to end the year with Nike’s sponsorship are the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and the South American Under-23 Games.
Asuperb century stand between skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and all-rounder Nasir Hossain rescued Bangladesh on the opening day of their threeday warm-up match against St Kitts and Nevis on Saturday. The pair came together after tea with the visitors in strife at 186-6. They led a forthright recovery to close the day at 330 runs for six wickets on a good batting pitch at Warner Park. Mushfiqur launched a counter-attack with three sixes and has so far topscored on
82 not out. Nasir also went after the bowling and helped his captain to keep the hometown boys at bay. He will resume today on 78 not out. They added 144 runs in the final session to take command.
Earlier in the day, the Bangladeshis were rocked by some hostile fast bowling from Quinton Boatswain and Jeremiah Louis. Boatswain, 23, is a graduate of the Sagicor West Indies High Performance Centre, and was specially invited from Montserrat to play in this fixture. In four sharp spells he
was constantly always aggressive and ended with the impressive figures of 17-7-352. He took the first wicket of Shamsur Rahman – brilliantly caught left-handed down the leg-side by teenaged keeper Jaeel Clarke. Boatswain’s second scalp was Imrul Kayes caught at midwicket off the leading edge. Louis, tall, bustling with a jerky action, also got the ball to lift awkwardly on the flat surface. He ended the day with figures of 17-7-362. Both wickets came in the opening session with the new ball. He had dangerman Tamim Iqbal caught by the keeper for 20 and then produced another outswinger which Monimul Haque edged to third slip. (windiescricket)
Warwickshire innings (20 overs maximum)
Bangladesh 1st Innings
Tamim Iqbal c wkp Clarke b Louis 20
Shamsur Rahman c wkp Clarke b Boatswain 10
Imrul Kayes c Berridge b Boatswain 44
Monimul Haque c Ward b Louis 10
Mohammad Mahmudullah c Ward b Berridge 27
Shuvagata Hom run out 48
*+Mushfiqur Rahim not out 82 Nasir Hossain not out 78
Extras (lb-5, w-3, nb-3) 11
TOTAL (for 6 wkts; 95 overs) 330 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-45, 3-60, 4-92, 5-138, 6-186 Bowling: Sheeno Berridge 9-0-46-0, Boatswain 17-735-2, Willett 12-5-28-0, Louis 17-7-36-2, Elvin Berridge 15-3-56-1, Ward 9-0-53-1, Martinez 3-0-17-0, Taylor 6-1-23-0, Jeffers 7-1-32-0
Although there was little on paper to separate the two sides, it seemed during the first two ODIs that Sri Lanka were the better team for the long haul - less likely to make silly mistakes, and less likely to fold under pressure. And so it proved in the decider, as Pakistan crumbled to their ninth-lowest ODI total in a match that never threatened to become a genuine contest.
Sri Lanka strolled to their target in 18.2 overs, and Tillakaratne Dilshan reached his 38th ODI fifty with the winning four. Pakistan struck three times. They dismissed Kumar Sangakkara cheaply for the third time in a row, and the third umpire may have let Dilshan off early in his innings, but there was no way Sri Lanka were not winning this one.
For the first time in the series, Pakistan began a match in their comfort zone. Having had to chase two big targets, they won the toss and batted. This is what they like to do. It was the 31st toss Misbah-ulHaq had won, and the 21st time he had chosen to bat.
Pakistan had Saeed Ajmal back, and the pitch, every-
one agreed, promised to help the spinners as the match progressed. In the deciding match of a three-match series, things were finally falling in place for them. Misbah said 260-270 would be a good score.
Pakistan did not get anywhere near that. The movement Lasith Malinga and Dhammika Prasad achieved early on may have forced them to rethink their target, but they surely would not have settled for 102 all out. They began at a crawl, scoring just six runs in the first five overs for the loss of Sharjeel Khan, but what followed flattered Sri Lanka’s bowlers. This was not a typically flat ODI track, certainly, but it was definitely one on which a team could survive 50 overs. Pakistan were bowled out in less than 33, with their only respite coming during a 40-minute rain interruption when they were 81-8. The match was reduced, subsequently, to 48 overs a side.
Quite simply, Pakistan did not show up, which was a pity for the capacity crowd that turned up, klaxons blaring, to watch only the second ODI at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium in the last four years. (Cricinfo)
Pakistan innings (48 overs
maximum)
Ahmed Shehzad c Perera b Prasad 10
Sharjeel Khan c Jayawardene b Prasad 0
Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Malinga 1
Misbah-ul-Haq* run out (Dilshan) 18 Fawad Alam not out 38
Umar Akmal† c Malinga b Perera 7
Sohaib Maqsood c †Sangakkara b Perera 7 Shahid Afridi c Perera b Prasanna 2
Wahab Riaz c †Sangakkara b Perera 0 Saeed Ajmal c Jayawardene b Perera 6
Mohammad Irfan b Herath 5
Extras (lb-1, w-6, nb-1) 8
Total (all out; 32.1 overs) 102
Fall of wicket: 1-4 (Sharjeel Khan, 2.3 ov), 2-14 (Ahmed Shehzad, 6.4 ov), 3-14 (Mohammad Hafeez, 7.3 ov), 4-47 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 15.5 ov), 5-55 (Umar Akmal, 18.2 ov), 6-73 (Sohaib Maqsood, 22.4 ov), 7-76 (Shahid Afridi,
23.5 ov), 8-77 (Wahab Riaz, 24.2 ov), 9-88 (Saeed Ajmal, 28.2 ov), 10-102 (Mohammad Irfan, 32.1 ov) Bowling: KTGD Prasad 6-025-2 (1-nb, 3-w), SL Malinga 7-2-17-1 (1-w), AD Mathews 5-0-11-0, HMRKB Herath 2.10-6-1, NLTC Perera 8-1-34-4 (2-w), S Prasanna 4-1-8-1
Sri Lanka innings (target: 101 runs from 48 overs) WU Tharanga b Mohammad Irfan 14 TM Dilshan not out 50 KC Sangakkara† c Mohammad Hafeez b Wahab Riaz 2 DPMD Jayawardene
sunday, august 31, 2014
England suffered another demoralising defeat as India moved 2-0 ahead with two games left in the one-day series courtesy of a six-wicket triumph.
Put in, England’s Alastair Cook (44) and Alex Hales (42) reached 82-0 after 18 overs before 3-15 fell in 28 balls.
It needed 42 from Jos Buttler and 30 in 18 balls from James Tredwell to take England to a modest 227, with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claiming 3-39.
Ambati Rayudu struck an unbeaten 64 as India won with seven overs to spare.
Cook’s quest to combat Graeme Swann’s recent criticism of England’s oneday cricket was scuppered by more frailties from his team as India expertly exploited some turn on a slow Trent Bridge pitch.
Having lost the Test series 3-1 with three successive defeats, India can secure the ODIs with a third consecutive win of their own in the next match at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
After a sketchy opening five overs in which only 11 were scored, Cook and Hales struck three fours
apiece and took the score to 48 by the end of the first 10.
But as in the 133-run defeat in the previous match at Cardiff, the introduction of spin proved England’s undoing and there were to be only five more boundaries in the next 36 overs.
Hales had struck some stylishly authentic strokes through the off side in his 55-ball innings but was first to fall when he top-edged a sweep at Suresh Raina into his shoulder and it looped gently to wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni.
England innings Cook st Dhoni b Rayudu 44
Hales c Dhoni b Raina 42
Bell run out (M Sharma) 28
Root st Dhoni b Jadeja 2
Morgan c Dhoni b Ashwin 10 Buttler b Ashwin 42
Stokes c Raina b Ashwin 2
Woakes c M Sharma b Shami 15
Tredwell c and b B Kumar 30
Finn run out (Rayudu) 6
Anderson not out 0
Extras (1-nb, 2-w,3lb) 6
Total (all out; 50overs) 227
Bowling: B Kumar 8-0-45-1, M Sharma 3-0-17-0, Shami 9-0-40-1, Ashwin 10-0-393, Raina 8-0-37-1, Rayudu 2-0-8-1, Jadeja 10-0-38-1
Fall of wickets: 82 (Hales),
93 (Cook), 97 (Root), 120 (Morgan), 138 (Bell), 149 (Stokes), 182 (Woakes), 202 (Buttler), 226 (Tredwell), 227 (Finn)
India innings Rahane c Buttler b Finn 45 Dhawan c Morgan Woakes 16 Kohli c Tredwell b Stokes 40 Rayudu not out 64
Raina c Woakes b Tredwell 42 Jadeja not out 12
Extras (7-w, 2-lb) 9
Total (for 4 wickets;43overs) 228
Bowling: Anderson 7-0-29-0, Woakes 8-1-43-1, Tredwell 101-46-1, Finn 8-0-50-1, Stokes 6-0-31-1, Root 4-0-27-0
Fall of wickets: 35 (Dhawan), 85 (Rahane), 118 (Kohli), 205 (Raina)
Striving to be assertive by stepping down the pitch, Cook was stumped down the leg side, a maiden international wicket for occasional wicketkeeper Rayudu’s unorthodox off-spin.
Eoin Morgan departed to sharp turn from Ashwin and now averages only 17 from his last eight ODI innings, while Ian Bell, who looked relatively composed in his 28 from 38 balls, was run out by Mohit Sharma’s direct hit from the boundary. Sharma earlier left the field, having only been able to bowl three overs of seam, but a greater percentage of spin proved more beneficial for India.
England needed something spectacular in the field, and though Chris Woakes had Shakhar Dhawan caught at backward point for 16 in the eighth over, spinner Tredwell (146) was hit for six by Virat Kohli (40) in his second over as they were unable to sustain any genuine pressure.
Steven Finn, bowling second change in his first international match since September 2013, ended Ajinkya Rahane’s fluent 45 in the 18th over to leave India 85-2.
But he went for 50 from eight overs as Rayudu, 28, displayed great poise in his highest ODI score. (BBC Sport)
Former national and West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman, Ridley Jacobs, has been appointed head coach of the Antigua and Barbuda senior national cricket team.
Jacobs’ appointment comes as the team prepares for both the 2014 Leeward Islands Cricket Association (LICA) Threeday Tournament and its NAGICO One-day Tournament starting in September.
The Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) had announced two weeks ago that the position of head coach, previously occupied by another former West Indies and Antigua player, Winston Benjamin, had become vacant.
A total of seven individuals, including former West Indies fast bowler, Kenneth “Flipper” Benjamin and former Leeward Islands captain, Wilden “Polo” Cornwall, had applied for the position.
The Cricket Association is however, yet to make an official announcement regarding Jacobs’ appointment and repeated calls to President Zorol Barthley went unanswered. When contacted, Jacobs said he could not speak on the issue.
Reports are that former national player, John Archibald, will be Jacobs’ assistant.
The ABCA, last week, announced a 24-member training squad as it commenced preparations for the upcoming sub-regional tournaments.
The squad, which includes two reserved players, consists of Alzari Joseph, Rakeem Cornwall, Kareema Gore, Kadeem Phillip, Kerry Mentor, Stanny Simon, Hayden Walsh Jr, Maxwell Georgeson, Orlando Peters, Gavin Williams, Anthony Martin, Austin Richards Jr, and Daren Benta.
The other selected players are Jamal Fernandez, Mali Richards, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge, Kofi James, Tyrone Williams Jr, Juari Edwards, Damien Lowerfield, Chad Hampson, Sylvester Joseph and Jermaine Otto.
The two reserves are Desir Strange and Shavon Moore.
Antigua and Barbuda’s opening match in the LICA Three-Day Tournament is on September 18, while their NAGICO Oneday Tournament opens on September 21. Both matches will be at home against Montserrat. (windiescricket)
"It
t is most unfortunate for the cricket fraternity around the world and Guyanese in particular to accept the decision taken by the Caribbean Premiere League (CPL) Cricket Tournament Committee (CTC) in respect to the glaring and unacceptable decision that cheated the Guyana Amazon Warriors in this year’s 2014 final.
It cannot be denied that the 2014 CPL tournament was well organised and the massive spectator support was spectacular in Guyana.
Thousands of Guyanese at home and in the diaspora rallied behind the Guyana Amazon Warriors and cannot accept the blatant disregard for the rules of the game and the bad decision to award the final to the Barbados Tridents.
Immediately after the match was awarded to the Barbados Tridents, the Guyana Amazon Warriors challenged the decision. It was heartbreaking to watch the reaction of fans in St Kitts and the mammoth crowd in the ground as they displayed their utter disappointment with the results of the match.
Thousands of spectators around the world, particularly at home and at the ground, publicly protested and spoke out against the decision.
Thousands of followers in social media are voicing their opinions and vehemently condemning the outcome.
It is amazing to know that both the CTC and the CPL said they do not object to the matter being referred to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the games world governing body, for a ruling that is definitive, transparent and expeditious. These words clearly suggest that the CTC’s decision was arrived at with a great degree of doubt.
A petition website has been launched in support of the Guyana Amazon Warriors challenge. Thousands of followers are expressing their support for the Guyana Amazon Warriors. They are calling for the
over rate. When rain stopped play at 19:54 (7:54pm) only 15.5 overs were completed. This clearly reveals that there was a very slow over rate by the Barbados Tridents and this was not dealt with by the umpires.
The fact is that after the rain interruption, the covers were removed, mopping up was completed and the stumps were back in position and ready for play.
The fourth umpire also indicated the restart of the game. Both match umpires went on to the field when the stumps were up and ready for play. However the devil took over and after deliberate delays, the match was mysteriously awarded to the Barbados Tridents.
These most ungentlemanly tactics must not be accepted, as cricket has always been a “gentleman’s game”. The spirit of the game itself calls for an immediate resolution to this issue.
It is important that more explicit statements and explanations be made by the relevant authorities. Many persons are still not
reversal of the decision.
The CTC ruled that the result of the rain affected final stands, although there has been mounting pressure from thousands of fans worldwide for the results to be in favour of the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Imminent personalities, highly respected analysts and commentators, along with administrators, and sport enthusiasts are also voicing their opinions against the decision to award the game to the Tridents.
The team awarded the win was not even ashamed to collect a hefty purse. But what is more significant is the fact that they will play in the Champions League T20 tournament.
I call on the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ Franchise Owners, Manager, Coach and administrative staff must be even more aggressive and demand that the Warriors be the only team from the Caribbean to play in the Champions League.
The franchise owners need to “fresh up” our thousands of Limacol supporters. A strong petition must be sent immediately to the West Indies Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council (ICC) for them to bring this matter to a just conclusion.
The playing conditions and rules clearly stipulate that there is a penalty for slow
King’s Six emerged winners of the Hilbert “Bumpy” Ali 80th birth anniversary feature domino competition, played at the Everest Cricket Club last Wednesday night.
The competition, organised by International Six, of which Ali is a long-standing member, and sponsored by Shew’s General Store of Leopold Street, Georgetown, saw King’s Six entering the final sitting one game behind frontrunners Ali’s Six, but registered 15 games to their opponents 14.
King’s Six’s last ditch effort saw them ending on the same 77 games as Ali’s
Stag Beer West
Six, but they came out tops by scoring seven sixes as against five by the birthday man’s side. Jeet’s Six, who were never in contention, ended in the cellar with 66 games.
Basil “Super Cool” Jeet, who is visiting from overseas, led the way for the winners with 15 games and received support from Sham Seeram (14), Claude Stuart (13) Lennox Collison (13) and skipper Looknauth “King” Persaud (12).
The top markers for Hilbert “Bumpy” Ali’s team were Mahadeo “Bomb” Persaud with 17 games, Manniram “Packer” Shew
16 and Nazir “Doc” Ali 15. “Bumpy” only managed 10 games.
Captain Soomdat “Rico” Jeet led his team with 14 games, while Paramanand “Rough” Jagdeo had 12. The champion and runner-up team were recipients of trophies as well as the top three players in the respective teams- Basil Jeet of King’s Six, Mahadeo Persaud of “Bumpy” Ali’s Six and Soomdat Jeet of Jeet’s Six.
Hilbert “Bumpy”, who turned 80 on Wednesday, is credited with being the oldest player competing on the local scene.
football…
tuschen up-top-youths, Vergenoegen all-stars and uitvlugt record wins
Tournament favourites Tuschen UpTop-Youths, along with the undefeated Vergenoegen All-Stars and Uitvlugt were all on the winner’s row when action in the Stag Beer West Side 5-a-side football tournament continued last Friday.
clear about the rules and playing conditions governing CPL matches.
The blanket expressions cannot suffice. People need explanations. People need information. People need to be guided with respect to the outcome of the final.
The truth is of absolute necessity. If there were wrongdoings, let them be known. If there were dishonest actions, the perpetrators must be exposed and brought to justice.
How about exposing what appears to be conflict of interest by senior CPL officials? Why were CPL officials involved in deciding a match? Who owns CPL and who owns the Barbados Tridents? And why was a Bajan umpire officiating for the finals in which one of the teams was Barbados?
If there is a need to re-visit the rules, regulations and playing conditions, then this must be done with urgency, so as to ensure that any changes are required are immediately implement, thus eradicating any doubts and or embarrassment to anyone.
The phrase “it’s just not cricket” was coined in the 19th century to refer to unfair or unscrupulous acts in any aspect of life. Today, it is indeed unfortunate that I must say the CPL 2014 final was “just not cricket.”
Playing at the Vergenoegen Rice Mill Tarmac, the tournament saw another massive crowd turning up to witness what was a night of exciting play. Labelled ‘the team to beat’, Tuschen Up-Top-Youths defeated Showtime 1-0, compliments of a Devon Millington strike in the 17th minute.
The margin of victory could’ve been wider since the Tuschen team was guilty of not finding the net, sometimes from point-blank range.
Carlisle Carron (seventh minute) and Jamaal Petty (19th minute) helped Uitvlugt to a 2-1 victory over DeKenderen village.
The two West Coast Demerara villages certainly kept the crowd on the edge with some pulsating plays and after DeKenderen village registered the first goal by Andre Hector after just two minutes into the game, Uitvlugt seemed more determined.
Both sides had equal opportunities to score, but it was Uitvlugt who seemed hungrier to reach the final where they can contest for the tournament’s $200,000 first place prize.
Meanwhile, Marvin Marks’ goal in the second minute was more than enough to ensure that Vergenoegen All-Stars remain unbeaten in the tournament and also to sit them top of their group.
Woodcrest lost 1-0 to the team from East Bank Essequibo who once again, by virtue of being the home team, enjoyed very good crowd support.
In the other matches played, Jetty Gunner and New Road Eagles (the tour-
nament’s only other undefeated team) saw their games ending in a goalless draw, while the Shattaville Pacesetters and Stewartville Gunners clash finished tied 1-1. Jouel Stephens put Shattaville Pacesetters ahead with his goal which was scored in the first minute, but Marvin Henry second goal (20th minute) levelled the scores for Stewartville Gunners that saw the game ending in a draw. The tournament will continue tonight at the same venue and will see the conclusion of the group stage matches. Quarter-final matches will be played on September 3, after which the semi-finals will take place on September 5 and the final on September 7.
Historian Tota Mangar on Friday urged participants of the East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) cricket academy to take advantage of the opportunities being offered to them during the five-day programme.
Mangar was at the time delivering the feature address at the closing ceremony for the ECCB’s 14th annual cricket academy for aspiring cricketers at the Lusignan Community Centre ground, East Coast Demerara.
“I would like you to take this very seriously; take
really enjoyed going out on the field and actively interact with my friends, but it is not just about going out on the field and playing cricket, it is about new lessons everyday so that we could develop ourselves and I am tremendously appreciative.
"I would like to thank the East Coast Cricket Board for keeping this academy year after year and for me; it has been a pleasure – thank you ECCB.”
President of the ECCB, Bissoondyal Singh, during his address stated that he
full advantage of the academy. You will benefit in the long run because cricket is not only played nationally, but also internationally,” Mangar said.
The former deputy ViceChancellor of the University of Guyana spoke of the benefits of the academy and stressed that in addition to the technical aspects of cricket, the youths will learn other important aspects of life skills.
He commended President Bissoondyal Singh and his executives, who were recently re-elected when the ECCB held its Annual General Meeting on August 10.
Good job
“The East Coast Cricket Board executives must be commended since this is not an ordinary event; this academy in now in its 14th year and it must be serious commitment and dedication to continuously organise this programme,” Mangar said.
He added, “Unlike the old days when cricket was played as recreation, cricket is now very commercialised and is serious business; this initiative by the ECCB is very laudable and it comes against a background of a lot of problems facing national cricket administration in Guyana and I urge you to retain the knowledge, work hard and do your utmost to be ambassadors of Guyana.”
He referred to Clive Lloyd and Shivnarine Chanderpaul as persons who led by example when it comes to discipline and urge the participants to emulate the two superstars.
Thirteen-year-old Avin Gangadin, a participant of the academy in a impressive and emotional presentation, said, “My stay here has been an extraordinary one and I
cricket has found itself, Singh said, “I do not want for any moment anyone becoming frustrated or dwell in the realm of despair.
"Our government and the opposition in Parliament have passed legislation and this process will see a true reflection of the electoratesprofessional people to man-
age our cricket so that every child in this country is afforded with an opportunity regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.
believes that the academy will aid in the improvement of each participant and also the general standards of Guyana’s cricket from the youth to senior level.
“This is not about having a certificate on your wall or a trophy to show your friends that you have attended the ECCB academy.
Contribution
"We want to ensure that each of you become better citizens who can make a contribution to our beautiful country,” Singh stressed.
He further stated, “You were not only taught the art of playing cricket, but the dangers of using illicit drugs, the benefits of being fit, your personal hygiene, discipline, commitment and dedication, food and nutrition, discrimination, these are all facets of life that if put carefully into practice will make you better citizens of our dear beloved country.
"Just to let you know that over the past 14 years participants who would have attended this academy and went on to play for Guyana are Zaheer Mohamed, Brian Sattaur, Kumar Nandalall, Emran Khan, Kevin Bazil, Clive Andries, Krishna Deosaran, Kamesh Yadram, Abena Parker, Devanie Sewnarine, Indomattie Goordial, Triolla Marshall, Faye Franklyn, Kavita Yadram, Reneeka Isaacs, Haseena Mohamed, Darlene Gayle, Bashkar Yadram and recently Amanda Persaud.
"These are all cricketers who went on to represent our dear land of Guyana. Sydartha Anandjit, who is a major contributor to this academy, is now a scorer regionally and also scored for ESPN in the 20/20 World Cup held in the Caribbean.”
Referring to the current situation that Guyana’s
"I therefore urge President Donald Ramotar and Minister Frank Anthony to bring to an end as soon as possible - what can only be described as mayhem, discrimination and lawlessness.”
Secretary of the ECCB, Judister Rampersaud, thanked the many sponsors including Pierre Walcott of M&P Investments, who recently came on board, the Lusignan NDC and all those who have made the academy a success.
